We're
headed into the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament, and four "Cinderella" hopefuls
remain to continue the tradition of George Mason, Virginia Commonwealth and
Butler as teams that have made the Final Four (or beyond) as lower-than-8-seeds
over the last few years.

Let's
break down each of the four low seeds remaining in March Madness, in seeding
order, and see what the chances are of each school making it to Atlanta next
week:

How
they've done it: The
Eagles used big second-half runs to break open tight games on both Friday night
and Sunday night. Against Georgetown, it was a 21-2 spurt; San Diego State was
the victim of a 17-0 barrage. Florida Gulf Coast is young and athletic, and it
would be tough to say that any group is having more fun out on the court. Led
by 43-year-old Andy Enfield, the Eagles are exciting to watch and playing
without any fear.

How
far can they go?
It's going to be tough to say the Eagles can't win any game they're in,
considering they scored more points against Georgetown than any other team this
season and ran past an extremely athletic San Diego State squad that couldn't
keep up with FGCU's run-and-gun style.

However,
it's going to be a tough task to get past Florida and then either Kansas or
Michigan. Even if Enfield — a former FSU assistant who is 3-2 in his career
against UF — can get his squad past the Gators, the Elite 8 seems likely to be
as far as the Eagles will fly.

How
they've done it: Like
they have in their big wins all year, it's been the guards that have carried
the Explorers. Ramon Galloway (24 points in the win over Ole Miss), Tyreek
Duren (19) and Ty Garland (17) are as good a guard trio as any left in the
tournament; it was Garland who hit the game-winning layup in the win over the
Runnin' Rebels.

How
far can they go? The
question isn't whether or not La Salle can get past the 9-seed Wichita State
and into the Elite 8; while it's far from a sure thing, both teams have talent
but both teams also have exploitable flaws. The Shockers are great on the
boards, which is certainly a weakness of the Explorers but whether or not WSU
can keep up with La Salle's guards remains to be seen.

The much
more difficult issue would be whether or not La Salle can get past Ohio State
or Arizona in the regional final. If they can get back reserve forward Steve
Zack, a 6-11 sophomore, for the weekend, the chances get much better; his
status is unknown as he continues to recover from a bruised foot. Either way,
it would be the first time in a while that the Explorers would have to go
against guards as good as their own.

How
they've done it: Oregon,
the Pac-12 regular season and tournament champions, certainly got slighted by
the NCAA Selection Committee with a 12-seed. They responded with perhaps the most
impressive first weekend overall, beating a young but extremely talented
Oklahoma State squad before a 17-point dispatching of A-10 champion Saint
Louis, who many (including this writer) had as an upset pick to advance into
the Final Four.

How
far can they go? The
fun stops in Indianapolis. Up first is Louisville, the Big East tournament
champion and one of the few candidates for "best team in the country" at the
moment. Though certainly not invincible, the Cardinals are riding a 12-game win
streak with an average margin of victory of 17.8 points. Not only that, but Oregon
has some turnover issues — and Louisville has the second-highest turnover margin
in the country at +6.3 per game. Should Oregon somehow catch Rick Pitino and
Louisville sleeping, they face Michigan State or Duke in the Elite 8.
Impossible? No. Improbable? Yes.

Final
Four chances: 15
percent

9)
Wichita State

How
they got here: def.
9) Pittsburgh, 73-55; def. 1) Gonzaga, 76-70

How
they've done it: The
win over Pittsburgh might actually have been a better win than the one over
Gonzaga, considering the fact that the 'Zags struggled to beat 16-seed Southern
in the Round of 64. Or, considering Pitt's struggles in the tournament recently,
maybe not. Wichita State is good, that much is clear. But have they been
playing their best basketball of the season, or taking advantage of opponents
who weren't playing their best? That will be determined this weekend.

How
far can they go? As
discussed above, the La Salle game is basically a coin flip. Though the
Shockers have been winning in a slightly more convincing fashion, the Explorers
have still managed to come out on the right side in each of their three games.
Of all the remaining Cinderellas, WSU does have the best chance to upset either
Ohio State or Arizona in the next round. While the Wildcats would probably be
the better draw for the Shockers, they do have some of the big bodies needed to
bang inside with the Buckeyes.